The Grip By Mark Allen 
I wanted to continue some of the thoughts about what makes a good off season that I started in last month's eNewsletter. The theme that we all can gain big benefits from right now is the word "Balance", and no better time to create some of that than right now when many of you are not training as much or as intensely as at other times of the year.
This is the perfect time to balance out all of the time and dedication of energy and resources you put into your racing. Here are a few ideas of things to do that can put you back into a state of balance that will have you ready to shoot for more personal greatness in 2009.
The first is to do things that are completely the opposite of long hard training. This means to indeed spend some mindless time sitting. Go to a movie. See a play. Read a book. Spend a few more hours watching others do sports on the television that you do yourself right now. This is the opposite of what most people need. The average couch potato who works day and night with little or no exercise could use a good dose of something like Coach Vargas' training camp where you get a chance to undo all of that sedentary time with some overdoing it on the training. But for most triathletes, taking a few weeks and just chilling is one of the biggest things you can do to put the energy back into your body and freshen up your mind. It's good to get that feeling of being a little stir crazy, like you can't wait to get at the training again.
Second, think of those things that get shoved to the bottom of life's to-do pile when you are training. These may be projects around the house, friends you have wanted to connect with or just tackling the real to-do pile in your home office. Do the things that need some blocks of time that you put off when most free minutes get eaten up with training hours. Your conscience will love you for it next season.
Third, stop denying yourself those small things that you give up during the season in the name of a great race performance. For most of us this is usually something in the culinary department. Yes, it's okay to have a short period right now where you fatten up just a bit and give the "won't touch it" rule some elasticity. This of course only applies to those temptations that you know you will be able to put back on the personal banned list once you start back into training, however.
Then last but not least, remember all those people who sacrificed for you? It may have been family members who picked up the pieces of your life while you spent time in the saddle. It could be those who covered for you at work while you raced in a far away land they could only dream of going to. Wherever those soldiers of goodwill reside in your life, find time to return the favor. And if it's your immediate family, overdo it for a while. At first they may be a little resistant to accepting your newfound giving attitude, but they'll surrender in no time. And at some point if given enough attention they will probably actually be happy to have you out of their hair again and kick you out for, yep, a long ride!
From all of us at MarkAllenOnline we want to extend you a Holiday Greeting and send our best wishes for a wonderful end of the year and a great 2009!
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The Off-Season: Part 2
I wanted to continue some of the thoughts about what makes a good off season that I started in last month's eNewsletter. The theme that we all can gain big benefits from right now is the word "Balance", and no better time to create some of that than right now when many of you are not training as much or as intensely as at other times of the year. This is the perfect time to balance out all of the time and dedication of energy and resources you put into your racing. Here are a few ideas of things to do that can put you back into a state of balance that will have you ready to shoot for more personal greatness in 2009.
The first is to do things that are completely the opposite of long hard training. This means to indeed spend some mindless time sitting. Go to a movie. See a play. Read a book. Spend a few more hours watching others do sports on the television that you do yourself right now. This is the opposite of what most people need. The average couch potato who works day and night with little or no exercise could use a good dose of something like Coach Vargas' training camp where you get a chance to undo all of that sedentary time with some overdoing it on the training. But for most triathletes, taking a few weeks and just chilling is one of the biggest things you can do to put the energy back into your body and freshen up your mind. It's good to get that feeling of being a little stir crazy, like you can't wait to get at the training again.
Second, think of those things that get shoved to the bottom of life's to-do pile when you are training. These may be projects around the house, friends you have wanted to connect with or just tackling the real to-do pile in your home office. Do the things that need some blocks of time that you put off when most free minutes get eaten up with training hours. Your conscience will love you for it next season.
Third, stop denying yourself those small things that you give up during the season in the name of a great race performance. For most of us this is usually something in the culinary department. Yes, it's okay to have a short period right now where you fatten up just a bit and give the "won't touch it" rule some elasticity. This of course only applies to those temptations that you know you will be able to put back on the personal banned list once you start back into training, however.
Then last but not least, remember all those people who sacrificed for you? It may have been family members who picked up the pieces of your life while you spent time in the saddle. It could be those who covered for you at work while you raced in a far away land they could only dream of going to. Wherever those soldiers of goodwill reside in your life, find time to return the favor. And if it's your immediate family, overdo it for a while. At first they may be a little resistant to accepting your newfound giving attitude, but they'll surrender in no time. And at some point if given enough attention they will probably actually be happy to have you out of their hair again and kick you out for, yep, a long ride!
From all of us at MarkAllenOnline we want to extend you a Holiday Greeting and send our best wishes for a wonderful end of the year and a great 2009!
Mark Allen
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